The bold are out, the other not yet. This all looks to be leading up to more of a marathon mode, so I suspect that the last mod will be in that line.

This is good, as the quality of the other mods is not great. Some nice ideas, but some clunky execution, and too many mods that mix up their 1 good idea with 15 crappy ones, making it an overall not that useful product.

Two two DLC are average, but they do add a little something extra.

I checking out a bunch more mods, but nothing especially promising. I think it's probably a few more key planks away from a really significantly changed experience.

Ok, so I've tried a few other mods that make the game pretty different and fun:

Additional Mission Types - Some different and fun mission typesGuerrilla War - Changes the mission play significantly, requiring you to evac out of almost all missions, and only get resources when you pull them out (enemy bodies, supplies, etc)

More minor, but also contributing:

A Better AISquad Cohesion

As a whole they make the game feel much more of a grind on the tactical level, like you really are up against overwhelming odds and just need to get stuff done as fast as possible and take whatever you can get.

I just had a great rescue mission where you have to break out a VIP from jail, but as soon as you do the enemy blocks your air extraction for 8 turns while sending wave after wave of troops at you, but you also gain the help of some local resistance forces in the way of a few rookies. It was a completely different feel.

Sadly there's a bug with the extraction which I haven't puzzled out yet (just this mission, others to date were fine).

Edit: After further playing it seems the might both be too buggy at this point, alas.

Since I got it on the Summer Sale I've been playing it pretty regularly to quell some of my recent post update Warframe rage. I played the hell out of XCOM 1, installed the original Long War and did a couple of playthroughs, etc.

XCOM 2 proceeded to kick the shit out of me. I was playing on Vet and made it a good way into the game but limping along, haunted by the Avatar timer, with slew of KIA's and shaken soldiers. I decided to start with a clean slate and try again. Since that was the case I also downloaded some mods to see how it would change the game. I installed the whole Long War suite (minus Laser Weapons but I did install the SMG weapon set), some cosmetic mods, a handful of the "fixes" like Gotcha! and Quit Wasting My Time, and a couple misc. ones like Squad Cohesion. I didn't want to significantly change the core game, just tweak it some.

I'm fairing a bit better this round, likely due to previous experience more than anything, but the LW mods are a nice change-up. The new classes and perks are neat. I like the RPG / skill up facet of games and the LW stuff addresses that nicely. Overall I think the LW stuff is worth a download - but only on a fresh play through due to bad mojo with save games and shit going sideways.

It seems a few people are getting the crash issues I've been having, but the cause isn't clear. It might be due to a mod, or a game update, or whatever.

Edit: Seems to be when you reload from a save in a tactical mission. So, don't do this. Trying again and so far so good, and the mods are making the game much fun.

Examples.

First mission, instead of just blowing up the statue, you need to blow it up and then extract out. But you only take the bodies you extract out with, so you probably want to get as many as possible, including a captain, for research and selling purposes. But balancing this is tricky, as reinforcements keep getting called in. I had to run out with just a couple of trooper bodies as I was getting pincered from behind by reinforcements.

Second mission is VIP kill/capture. Same deal, you still have to extract out, but on your terms. As soon as you blow cover you can't call in the skyranger for 8 turns though, as enemies reinforcements also pile in, so you really have to pick the moment you break cover, then have to weigh up the cost of getting the VIP and other bodies along with keeping safe for those 8 turns as you slowly get more overwhelmed. I was forced to extract out with the VIP, a captain and sectiod, as my 4th unit got caught from behind by reinforcements.

The game feels much more like you're a hunted revolutionary force this way.

At the risk of being off-topic, what happened? I haven't played Warframe in about a year.

I've been debating posting in the Warframe thread, but I felt like it would just come off as a rant. In very (very) brief - they rolled out an update which "revamped" many aspects of the game. The net effect is to noticeably stop down acquiring loot (gear), experience, and in-game currency. It also makes it more difficult for new players to progress. The majority of the player base isn't happy - me included, and I already have pretty much all the gear / loot / cosmetic stuff you can get.

This is always one of the strangest moves developers make--late in the cycle of a game's life to make the game strikingly more difficult and unpleasant for any new player who might happen upon it. And yet it happens fairly often.

So far I would say this make the game quite different, especially in regard to squad selection, and is lots of fun. The only points I'm not 100% sold on as if I should be using LW Perk Pack. I think those classes are a little too strong, and a bit boring.

I've also been playing with 6 Soldiers in the starting squad, but I think that that makes the game too easy.

Loved both games, but never really got into the long war. Might try it out on Xcom 2 then.

"My great-grandfather did not travel across four thousand miles of the Atlantic Ocean to see this nation overrun by immigrants. He did it because he killed a man back in Ireland. That's the rumor."-Stephen Colbert

The expansion news piqued my interest in LW2. This time I decided to throw some more mods on top of it as I found last time I wasn't good enough/it was a bit much for me. I probably overdid it, but I'm having a blast going through it all again. For anyone that liked the idea of LW2 but found the execution over the top, consider adding some of the following:

No Rank Up Throttling - just means your dudes can level up multiple times in a mission if they are enough expFlawless - If you earn a flawless rating, you get bonus Intel/alloys/supplies/eleriumTrue Concealment: if all your dudes are concealed, the mission timer does not tick downLW2 Tactical Suppressors: If you are concealed and kill something with a suppressed weapon, chance to remain concealed. Gremlins Grab Loot: Gremlins can Grab LootExtract Corpses: Lets you carry corpses out of missions. Also adds a fulton device item so you can balloon out corpses or injured allies.Hack Plus: everytime a soldier successfully preforms a Hack, they gain a little hacking skill. Probably OP, but I like growing my hackers.Ashlynns LW2 Alien Pack - Adds 3 new enemies along with corrosponding research and weapons. I found the advent warlock to be a good addition.Primary Pistols - Lets you equip a pistol as a primary weaponPistol Upgrades - Allows 3 upgrade slots to pistolsCelatid Alien LW2 - Adds a series of Celatid enemies. After research you can use celatid corpses to make deployable turrets which are WAY OP. Grimy's loot mod - Arguably the most unbalancing thing in here. I think the optimal way to play is to just sell all the loot boxes for supplies, which means if your missions are rolling well you can generate a gamebreaking amount of supplies. This did not bother me at all. Additionally, I like cracking the occasional chest for the unique attachments.Gunslinger class - Primary pistol dude. If intrested in doing this, make sure to include primary pistols and pistol upgrades. Stalker class - Didnt love this one. Kinda stealthy that at top level can make your squad invis for 1 turn.Field Medic class - adds a medic. Felt pretty well balanced. My favorite officer is a field medic.Tank Class - someone who can draw fire and absorb punishment. Good to always deploy on a team that reduces healing time, as using tanks properly sends them sickbay.

I also have a good amount of QOL, Cosmetic and Voicepacks installed. I gotta say that I never tried voicepacks previously, and am surprised at how much more they make me care about soldiers.

Expansion dropped today. It adds a ton of new stuff. I'm about 20% thru the main campaign (just got plated armor and I'm researching magnetic weapons). The new Chosen bosses are tough and specifically designed to prevent cheesing and turtling -- for example the sword-assassin boss doesn't trigger reaction shots, but takes extra damage from one of the new Factions. The new factions are interesting, but don't feel overpowered at the Sergeant level.

Anyway, its still Xcom, and it's pretty decent so far.

I would like to thank Vladimir Putin for ensuring that every member of the NPR news staff has had to say "Pussy Riot" on the air multiple times.

It definitely is. They have a second button in the launcher for the expansion including a seperate Modlist. They even changed the storyline regarding the rescue of the Commander at the start of the game to integrate the new factions.

Played if for a few hours now. The new expansion is awesome, at least at the beginning of the game. Don't know how it holds up to the end. I suspect the Chosen might trivialize the original endgame compared to them, but the ride up to that point should be worth it. They improved vastly on the emergent gameplay, which always was the best thing about Xcom 2 anyway.

To pile on to what everyone else is saying, you have to restart. None of my old save files show up in the list for the new game. But it's an even bigger revamp than 'Enemy Within' was. There's new one-time-only research options, enhanced story cinematics, zombie hordes, pair bonds, and more. I thought $40 was steep, but it's an awful lot of new stuff.

I would like to thank Vladimir Putin for ensuring that every member of the NPR news staff has had to say "Pussy Riot" on the air multiple times.

Its been a while since I last played it, but now that you mention it it indeed loads quite a bit faster.

The old DLC is neatly integrated in the expansion if you have bought it, but with the storybeats missing (which you can reenable). Basically it is 3 bossmobs guarding three blacksites and a new Robot class for Xcom.

Nice if you already have it, probably not worth the money compared to te expansion if you don't.

Fuck this is crazy fun. I love how much shit is going on in the strategic map now. The cross-chatter with the Chosen is great and often kind of hilarious.

I stopped doing Long War 2 because I got to a point where it was either save-scum like mad or give up, so I gave up. Just was too hard even though I liked it.

But here, they're in a sweet spot--I got a mission where the Nightqueen with an explosion vulnerability, a bunch of Lost, and some Advent troopers were all there and I was trying to get to some crates before Advent did. It felt crazy but never totally impossible--like, a great intensity and wild unpredictable fun to it.